Gotcha question for pols: Where do you live?

Floridians live fluid lives compared to people from other states. We move around a lot. Even after people arrive here, they often keep moving around.

MARK LANEFOOTNOTE

Floridians live fluid lives compared to people from other states. We move around a lot. Even after people arrive here, they often keep moving around. It's great for the self-storage industry but makes it hard to keep track of people. Including people in politics. As a result, residency challenges are a rich tradition in Florida politics and "Where do you live?" can be a gotcha question. Locally, Holly Hill residents are trying to figure out whether City Commissioner Donnie Moore lives in Holly Hill, Lake County or Ormond Beach while he works in Daytona Beach. The man does seem to be putting some miles on his car. Moore says he has an apartment in Holly Hill, which for many elected offices is sufficient for establishing residency. Renting a tiny place in the district is something of a tradition among U.S. representatives and state legislators, particularly after district lines are redrawn, but is less common in city politics. But the letter of Holly Hill's city charter says you must be a city elector to be a city commissioner. Being an elector means you have to be registered to vote there. And Election Supervisor Ann McFall has expressed doubts about Moore's eligibility to vote in Holly Hill. Moore said objections to his ability to hold office come from "a handful of nut jobs." And without venturing any medical opinions, it's certainly true that Holly Hill's strangely contentious brand of local politics has attracted more than its share of colorful personalities. Moore's characterization was bitterly objected to by Bikers For First Amendment Rights founder "Crazy" Eddie Colosimo, who put a "Nut jobs unite" sign in front of the group's clubhouse. Still, it's possible somebody who calls himself Crazy Eddie was not the very best person to offer a rebuttal here. Residency is a sensitive issue in Holly Hill. Only two years ago, the lack of a local address was a factor in the commission's abrupt firing of the town's city manager. And really, this looks far more serious than the usual residency challenge filed by a sore loser after election day. The elections superintendent has handed the case over to the State Attorney's Office. But this shouldn't be considered just a Holly Hill issue. An ethics complaint about residency was an issue in a New Smyrna Beach City Commission race in 2007 and a bogus address used by a Daytona Beach City Commission candidate caused him to drop out of his race in 2005. Meanwhile in Tallahassee, Sen. Jack Latvala, the Republican chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, last week called for an investigation into whether six legislators live outside their districts. That all six are Democrats seems to have given the matter greater urgency. Although the state constitution says legislators must be electors and residents in their districts, it also says "each house shall be the sole judge of the qualifications . . . of its members." So traditionally, the residency rule has been pretty loosely enforced. But really, why is it so hard to ask politicians to live in the place they represent? Not just have a work address there, not just a place to crash, not a just-for-show efficiency, but really live among their constituents. Even among a mobile people that doesn't sound like much to ask.

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